Wireless handheld devices typically communicate with each other over commonly defined standards based wireless protocols. These devices are typically untethered, unlike wired communication devices such as telephones. Wireless operators provide the wireless networking infrastructure and provide service to the end customer. The customer subscribes for such a service from the operators who in turn guarantee a certain degree of quality of service to their customers.
Wireless handhelds are increasingly becoming more powerful and multi-functional with advancements in hardware and operating systems components, thus providing application developers a common set of programming interfaces or APIs to create rich interactive applications. These applications are either pre-installed prior to commercial shipment or downloaded over-the-air by the customer. Due to the varied complexity of these “smart” device and the applications that execute within them, customer seeks operator's support to troubleshoot their devices.
Virtual Mobile Management (VMM) is a tool used by the Help Desk Administrators and other technicians to access user's Mobile Device for support purposes. When VMM is active the support personnel can do one of two things: 1) Observe activity on a user's Mobile Device or 2) Take control of a user's Mobile Device directly and perform a task or correct a problem. VMM is an extremely valuable support tool. The ability to observe activity on a user's mobile device allows support personnel to quickly pinpoint the source of a user's problem and provide proper instructions to the user. The ability to take control of a user's mobile device remotely allows support personnel to quickly resolve complex system problems without having the user to bring the device into a repair facility. This all enhances user experience and effectively reduces customer support duration.
Although VMM offers the opportunity to dramatically improve support levels and enhance user experience, it also brings up issues of privacy. With this invention the user will have better control on the VMM as it allows the user to pause streaming when performing sensitive transactions. The user can directly make a connection with the Help Desk administrator for resolution of any kind of issue that the user has on the mobile device.
The customer care organization may require troubleshooting software to provide effective customer support. It may be advantageous to provide an apparatus that provides remote control and diagnostic capabilities to the customer care for effective troubleshooting.